Turns out October 1 is Cyprus’ Independence Day. Not something we had planned for or known about before we got up this morning.
Our day started normally with breakfast at 📍Lazarus Bakery Bar. The place was almost full to the brim but we managed to snag one of the last tables on the side of the restaurant. We ordered something of our usual fare for this trip. Karine went for a granolas bowl and I went for some kind of eggs – this time around it was a variation on the English breakfast. To give ourselves a little extra energy and some for of treat we ordered the honey pancakes. We were warned that they were Cyprian-style pancakes, so different from American or British style. We accepted this new culinary adventure with enthusiasm and sipped our coffee while waiting for the the food. Everything tasted good but I get why we were warned about the pancakes. They are done in oil and not a cake. It’s like they went with a too thick French crêpe batter and cooked it in oil. In the exterior is brown and bubbly but the center ends up a little chewy. With enough honey on it the thing is halfway decent.
Leaving breakfast we headed to the Ancient Kition Ruins. They are the remains of a city with a continuous history spanning over 4,000 years. Kition was originally a Mycenaean settlement from around the 13th century BC, which later became a significant Phoenician port and commercial hub from the 9th century BC. You don’t need to dig far to meet history and ruins around here. Sadly the 1.4km was for naught. While they should have been open, if we had bothered to go to the ministry of culture website, go the department of antiquity section and download the Excel spreadsheet named “public holidays” we might have learned that the site was closed for Independence day. Also, like their schedule, the site hides it entrance. If you ask Google for directions to the site it’ll get you to the closest point near the middle of the site. As it’s surrounded by habitations, the thing is in the middle of the city after all, that point is not where the entrance is. You should, instead, look for the location named “Ancient Kition Entrance”. It took us some wandering around to find that out and when we did, the padlocks on the site‘s gate let us know it was most definitely closed today. Oh well… you live you learn.
Having learned what Independence day means for our plans, we decided to focus the rest of the day on things that could not be closed. We walked the 3.5km from the Kition site from the Kamares Aqueduct. The Aqueduct was built starting in 1747 and completed in 1750 during the Ottoman period. Its purpose was to transport clean water from a source about 10 km south of Larnaca to the city, solving a long-standing freshwater supply problem. The aqueduct was built in a classical Roman style. Because… well… if it works for the Romans why not the Cypriot? It remained in operation until 1939, almost 200 years!
The walk to the aqueduct from the ruins wasn’t the most scenic or fun. Most of it was done in the total absence of sidewalk or usable sidewalks in a mix of architecture I wouldn’t know how to describe. The best I could say it went from ruins to modern apartments building in small bursts. Once at the Aqueduct, you get an impressive structure. You also get the beginning of a 4 km trail along the salt lakes. The lakes fill with water during the winter and evaporate in summer, leaving salt crusts. Historically, salt was harvested here, but this stopped in 1986. The lake is a significant wetland and important habitat for waterbirds, especially flamingos that spend the winter months feeding on brine shrimp there. The flamingo arrives in November. We didn’t get to see many birds around a dry lake bed. This being said it’s a fascinating sight and well worth the walk.
While walking the 4 km from the end of the trail to our airbnb, we were reminded of two things. One, we should have planned for the distance and pace brought water. We did end up walking close to 13km in the sun with little shade at 28°C. Two, being back in warm weather is awesome!
We stopped for water on our way back more than once and, maybe, we stopped for some day drinking too. We then spent the end of the afternoon and the evening back at the Airbnb. The sun rises around 6:30 and sets around 18:30 here (compared to 7:30 to 19:00 in Chania). We’ll have to adjust our schedule and maybe set an alarm on the longer days as not to hike or visit open air sites in the dark.
We went for dinner at 📍Psarolimano, a seafood and fish restaurant on a marina. We ordered the “mezze” which consists of getting an assortment of small portions from the kitchen in a couple of services. It’s a culinary adventure and continuous series of small surprises all in one. Something that Karine loves… and I tolerate.
Tomorrow we’re picking up the car, driving on the left side of the road all the way to cape Greco and coming back. Hopefully without making an accident or taking a roundabout the wrong way. Well there will also be hiking in there. Wish us luck!
Places
Lazaris BakeryBar · Street
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Ancient Kition Entrance · Larnaca
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Psarolimano · Larnaca
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